Paper registering control



Jnine 7, 1938. A. s. FITZ GERALD 2,119,670

PAPER REGISTERING CONTROL Filed Sept. 19, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J'IPW AT OITIR INVENT OR. I fl/wz 6. Gem/d,

June 7, 1938. ms. FlTZ GERALD PAPER REGISTERING: CONTROL Filed Sept. 19, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet .2

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ATTORNEY.

Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT .OFFlCE PAPER REGISTERING CONTROL Application September 19, 1936, Serial No. 101,599

7 Claims. (01. 2 71 2.6) u

The present invention relates to paper and web feeding mechanism and more particularly to a control for quickly bringing a web into proper register with a cooperating agency, such as a knife or other coacting means. Specifically considered the present invention is an improvement of the web feeding control of the machine de scribed in my co-pending application for patent Serial No. 66,023, filed February 27, 1936. Generally considered, however, the present invention is applicable to any web feeding mechanism wherein a framing or registering of a part of the web with respect to a definite place is necessary.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide a device, operating in conjunction with a web feeding mechanism, to quickly and accurately bring any selected point of a web into register with a predetermined point; to provide a registering or framing device for a web feeding mechanism which is so arranged and associated with an automatic registering control that it can be operated at will without disturbing any set condition of the automatic control; to provide a manual control for a web feeding mechanism wherein provision is made for increasing or decreasing at will the friction of the web feeding mechanism to vary the position of the web. with respect to a certain defined location according to requirements; and to provide other improvements as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 represents a perspective of a portion of a machine showing a web feeding control embodying one a, fragmentary elevation of a web in relation to a severing means; and Fig. 7 represents a side elevation of an actuating bushing of the manual control.

Referring to the drawings one form of the present invention is shown as a part of an article wrapping machine and in association with the paper or web feeding means thereof. In the machine here illustrated, the wrapping material enters in the form of two strips Ill and I I so that ultimately each article leaves the machine enclosed in a double wrapper formed by the aforesaid two strips or webs. For the purpose of explaining the invention only one of these webs with its novel control need be here considered. For feeding the web in a cylinder l2, preferably of metal is provided, and against which a control roller l3 of resilient material is arranged to press the web Hi to cause feeding thereof. The cylinder I2 is pinned or otherwise made fast to a shaft I4 journalled in the frame I5 with its ends projecting to respectively receive a star wheel I! and a driven gear l8. The star wheel I! is here used as the means for giving intermittent motion to the shaft l4 and is driven in the well known manner of any Geneva movement. The control roller I3 is affixed to a hub member 20 which is fast upon a spindle 2| journalled in movably mounted blocks 22 and 23. A gear 24 is fastened to the spindle 2| in position to mesh with'the driven gear III, the arrangement being such that each rotary movement of the shaft l4, transmitted through the gears l8 and 24, causes a simultaneous rotary movement of the spindle2l in the opposite direction. Thus the intermittent rotation of the shaft I4 and the spindle 2| results in the linear propulsion of the web l0 step by step under the pressure of the control roller l3. Obviously a variation of the pressure of the roller l3 results in a variation of the speed of travel of the web and this roller I3 is therefore used in accordance with the present invention to either increase or decrease the rate of web feed, according to the position of the web with respect to the severing means, to bring the web to registered position. In explaining this control reference is made to Fig. 6 wherein a portion of a length of Web ID is shown relative to the severing knife 25 with one of the black index marks 26 on the web III in register with the knife 25, this position being the normal correct framing one which is automatically maintained by an electric eye control as fully disclosed in the aforesaid co-pending application. These index marks 26 are located throughout the length of the web In, each denoting the place of severance of the web so that each severed length of material will include one complete design.

For automatically regulating the pressure of the control roller l3, the journal block 22 is slidably mounted in a yoke 21, the mounting being made by pins 28 projecting at opposite sides of the block 22 to ride respectively in slots 30 in the yoke 21. Movement of the block 22 in adirection to increase the pressure of the control I3 is accomplished by a leader stud 3| threaded into a sleeve 32 which'is rotatably mounted in an extension 33 of the yoke 21. The sleeve 32 has a worm gear 34 keyed or otherwise made fast thereto and arranged to be driven by a worm 35 which is actuated by a mechanism responsive to an electric eye control as set forth in the aforesaid co-pending application. A coil spring 38 abuts a fixed part at one end and the block 22 at its other end to hold the latter in operative contact with the stud 3|. The spring 36 is maintained under such compression that when the stud 3| is fed in a direction .away from the block 22, the latter will follow this movement to thereby decrease the pressure of the control roller l3.

For manually regulating the pressure of the control roller l3, the journal block 23 is free to move laterally in a guide-way 31 of the frame l5 but is normally fixed in a predetermined position by contact with one end of a threaded pin 40. An internally threaded bushing 4| receives the pin 40 and after the initial or set position of the pin 40 has been determined with respect to the block 23, it is maintained so set by a locking nut 42. The bushing 4| is generally of cylindrical shape having a long pitch left hand thread 43 at one end for threaded coaction with a like thread on the inner face of one end of the encompassing bearing 44 for the bushing 4|. A flat 45 is provided on the body of the bushing 4| in position to seat the end of a follower 46 which is urged thereagainst by a coil spring 41. The follower 45 is guided in a tubular extension 48 of the bearing 44, while the spring 41 is held compressed by a cover plate 49 fixed in place by screws 50.

In order to manually rock the bushing 4| to cause it to move axially of the bearing 44, a hand pin 5| is threaded into a hole 52 in the bushing 4| to rise conveniently for grasping when desired. The bearing 44 is cut away in the plane of the pin 5| so that the latter can swing freely to the right to reduce the pressure of the roller l3, and to the left to increase the pressure of the roller l3. This cutaway portion provides limit stops 53 and 54, the former being preferably arranged to cause a shorter swing of the pin 5| in its direction than does the stop 54. This is accomplished, in the present construction, by differences in the angular relation of each stop to the axis of the pin 5|.

In order that ready access can be had to the feed mechanism when introducing a new web, the parts just described for manual control are all carried by a lever 55 which rides between cars 56 of the frame I5 and is mounted on a pivot 5'! for swinging movement. A latching pin 58 traversing a tubular part 59 of the frame l5 can enter a hole 60 in the lever 55 in order to lock it in its normal position when the web is feeding. With the latching pin 58 removed from the hole 60, the lever 55 can be swung out of the way temporarily to introduce a new web.

In the introduction of a new web into the machine with which the web is to be used it is only by chance that the web will be properly framed or registered-that is with an index mark 26 alined with the knife 25. In one instance the nearest mark 26 may be at the side of the knife from which the web approaches as shown at A, while in another instance the nearest mark 25 may be at the side of the knife from which the web leaves as shown at B. In the first instance the web can be brought quickly into registered position by swinging the handpin 5| to the left, (as seen in Fig. 3) so that the bushing 4| feeds to the right (as seen in Fig. 5) with the result that the pin 40 shifts the block 23 and shaft 2| in the required direction to increase the pressure of the control roller l3. In consequence the forward feeding speed of the web is increased to quickly bring the web to its proper framed position with the mark 25A alined with the knife 25. In the second instance it is quicker to bring the mark B back to register with the knife 25 than to have it travel the relatively long distance forward to reach the same position. Therefore the hand pin 5| is turned to the right (as seen in Fig. 3) so that the bushing 4| feeds to the left (as seen in Fig. 5) with the result that the pin 40 relieves the pressure on the block 23 and the pressure of the control roller I3 is so licensed that a slippage takes place in the feeding of the web which allows the index mark 25 to quickly come into alinement with the knife 25. When the web I is properly registered by this auxiliary hand means the continuing registration is automatically maintained by the action of the leader stud 3| under control of the electric eye mechanism. While the foregoing has referred to hand registration for placing a new web in place, it is to be understood that it is available-for use at any time should there be a material variance of registration. As soon as the hand pin is released the spring 4'! acts to restore the bushing 4| and pin 40 to normal position.

While only a single form is shown in which this invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific construction, but might be applied to various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:-

1. A web feeding control comprising means including a friction member and a driving member for feeding a web of material between said members step by step past a given point, said web having index marks thereon, manually controlled means operable while the web is feeding for varying the pressure of said friction member to cause said web to vary its position until said index marks come into register with said given point, and automatic means for maintaining said registered condition.

2. A web feeding control comprising means including a friction member and a driving member for feeding a web of material between said members step by step past a given point, said web having index marks thereon, manually controlled means operable while the web is feeding for reducing the pressure of said friction member to cause said web to vary its position until said index marks come into register with said given point, and automatic means for maintaining said registered condition.

3. A web feeding control comprising means including a friction member and a driving member for feeding a web of material between said members step by step past a given point, said web having index marks thereon, manually controlled means operable while the web is feeding for increasing the pressure of said friction member to cause said web to vary its position until said index marks come into register with said given point, and automatic means for maintaining said registered condition.

4. A web feed control comprising a feed roller, means to drive said roller, a control roller arranged to hold a web against said feed roller to cause said web to travel linearly, a shaft mounting said control roller, a slidingly mounted block journalling one end of said shaft, an abutment member for normally maintaining said block in a set position, and manually operated means including a rotatable feed block for shifting said abutment member to incrementally increase or decrease the pressure of said control roller according to requirements;

5. A web feed control comprising a feed roller, means to drive said roller, a control roller arranged to hold a web against saidfeed roller to cause said web to travel linearly, a shaft mounting said control roller, means for adjustably mounting one end of said shaft for movement towards and away from said feed roller, and means including a hand lever and a rotatable feed block for actuating said adjusting means at will to incrementally vary the frictional effect of said control roller according to requirements.

6. A web feeding control comprising the combination of a feed roller, means to drive said roller, a control roller for holding a web against said feed roller to cause said web to feed, a shaft rotatably mounting said control roller, an adjustable member for locating said shaft to cause a predetermined pressure of said control roller against said web, means including a part arranged when moved in one direction to cause said adjustable member to decrease the pressure of said control roller and when moved in the opposite direction to cause said adjustable member to increase the pressure of said control roller, manual means for actuating said part, and means automatically operative to restore said part to its predetermined selected pressure position when said manual means is released,- after shifting said part in ranged when moved in one direction to cause said adjustable member to decrease the pressure of said control roller and when moved in the opposite direction to cause said adjustable member to increase the pressure of said control roller, manual means for actuating said part, means automatically operative to restore said part to its predetermined selected pressure position when said manual means is released, after shifting said part in either direction, and means to mount said adjustable member, said part means, and said restoring means for movement as a unit towards and away from said shaft.

ALAN S. FITZ GERALD. 

